Those aged between 18 and 20 will continue to take home £4.98 an hour, and 16- and 17-year-olds will continue to earn £3.68 a year. The rate for apprentices, meanwhile, is increasing by 5p to just £2.65 an hour.

At the same time, the minimum rate paid to those aged 21 or above will rise by 11p to £6.19 an hour. The margin between the amount earned by a 16-year-old and a 22-year-old doing the same job was already large, but from autumn will increase by £228.80 to £5,221.

The freeze was recommended by the Low Pay Commission (LPC), which says in its report that its aim is "to ensure that minimum wage rates do not provide an incentive for young people to leave education or training while preventing exploitation for those who are in work or completing an apprenticeship."

Vince Cable, who made the announcement, says the government elected to freeze the minimum wage because "raising the youth rates would have been of little value to young people if it meant it was harder for them to get a job in the long run". Accepting the LPC's recommendations had been a "very hard decision", he said, but one that needed to be taken to encourage employers to recruit younger staff.

John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, agrees with that take: "We are pleased that ministers have heeded our call to freeze the youth and development wage rates. Freezing these rates will ensure employers are not put off from employing young people, and give them more confidence to invest in their training."

However, the announcement comes at a time when inflation is running at 3.6%, debts are soaring and record numbers of people are falling behind with rent.

Corey Kitchener, 20, works in Sheffield for a chain of bookmakers. He currently earns the 18- to 20-year-old rate of £4.98, but on Friday he will be 21 and his wage will increase to £6.19. Kitchener works 12 hours a week to help pay for a university course.

"I'm currently studying at uni, so I thankfully have my loan to pay for the rent – my wage is more for day-to-day expenses. However, if I had to live on just my wage I would struggle to afford even basic living expenses, and certainly wouldn't have been able to leave home," he says.

"A higher minimum wage would entice more young people to start looking for jobs, even if it wasn't perhaps the career they've always dreamed of. Also, if the government wishes to see more money going into the economy, then giving a higher wage to young people would be one way to stimulate this, especially as younger people are more likely to dispose of their income as they do not yet have their own families or mortgages to pay."

The LPC also suggests some employers are making the most of the opportunity to reduce pay to the level of the minimum wage, or hire staff who they can pay less: "Young people as a whole have been more affected by the minimum wage this year. Lower earnings growth compared with the increase in the minimum wage has led to a higher minimum wage bite.

"Further, employers have made increased use of their ability to pay below the adult rate of the minimum wage. While in general the research we commissioned for this report continued to show minimal effects of the minimum wage on employment, it did find some evidence to suggest that young people may have been adversely affected by the minimum wage, especially in a recession."

What is your experience – does a lower wage help young people into work?